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Welcome to Carizon

Carizon is a source of hope for our community. When children, youth, adults, couples or families face life’s challenges, Carizon programs and services provide the care and compassion to help them achieve wellness. Read More

It's A Girl Thing

Many teen girls who have been exposed to abuse, neglect or witness to family and community violence subsequently experience a range of emotional and behaviour mental health difficulties, including engaging in behaviours that place them at risk of experiencing or re-experiencing sexual assault, exploitation and/or unhealthy relationships. Many girls are not ready or willing to engage in treatment focusing on their earlier experience, but are willing to participate in a group to discuss issues of relevance to them. It’s a Girl Thing is a group for teen girls (ages 13 – 17) that often serves as an introduction for many girls to get further individual treatment.

This group aims to:

Enhance future safety

Enhance recovery and coping skills by focusing on skill building such as self-protection, self-soothing, affect regulation, creating and maintaining boundaries and developing healthy sexuality and relationships

The group is scheduled to begin at Carizon, 400 Queen Street South, on March 4, 2015, running for 12 weeks on Wednesdays, 3:30 – 5 p.m., and is co-led by facilitators from The Sexual Abuse Treatment Program at Family and Children’s Services and Carizon Family and Community Services. While the group is free, participants must be referred to It’s a Girl Thing and participate in an initial needs assessment to determine their treatment needs and fit for the group.

Trauma Informed Parenting Workshop

Parents and caregivers of children and youth who have experienced and been impacted by trauma can attend an educational workshop with the objective of assisting participants in understanding and parenting their child from a trauma-informed perspective. In this workshop parents will learn:

What trauma is

What sorts of events can trigger a traumatic reaction

What are symptoms of trauma

The impact of trauma on children (physical, emotional behavioural, cognitively and their worldview) and families

How to understand their children’s behaviour from a trauma-informed perspective

How to create safety (physical, psychological, social and moral safety) for their children and themselves

Emotion management/coping/relaxation strategies for parents to teach their children to help them cope with their feelings

How to promote their children’s resiliency and increase protective factors

What the established effective treatments are for trauma (traditional and alternative therapies)

Participants will leave the workshop with a tool kit of resources to support their learning.

This workshop is presented by Front Door, a joint initiative of Carizon Family and Community Services and Lutherwood.

Carizon Schedules Winter 2015 Counselling Groups

Carizon has scheduled Winter Group Programs for 2015. Carizon offers a wide range of group programs for men, women and children. Registration is required for all groups, including groups with no fee. For more information on any group, please contact us at 519-743-6333. Unless otherwise indicated, group programs are based on a sliding fee scale. Course material charges may apply to some groups.

Carizon Launches Holiday Campaign

As we enter the holiday season, I am reminded of a remarkable story that occurred last year at this time, and the incredible response of our amazing and caring staff at Carizon. Just a few days before Christmas Day, a young mother and her two children came through our doors at Carizon. Sarah was escaping a domestic violence situation. Immediately, Sarah was connected to a shelter and a safety plan was established. As Sarah’s healing journey progressed, she was provided with subsidized emergency housing, financial assistance and attended counselling and a therapy group for women at Carizon. In addition, Sarah received some job-readiness support and credit counselling to help her manage her new financial situation. Today Sarah and her children are thriving and, while there are still challenges ahead, they are managing their lives in a new home where they feel safe and are taking steps to a healthier and happier future.

We did everything at Carizon that we always do to support individuals and families that come through our door. But, what was particularly moving about Sarah’s story was, not only did the Carizon staff support Sarah through this traumatic time, they went the extra mile to ensure that Sarah and her children would get to celebrate Christmas. Every year, Carizon has a Spirit of Giving program to support our clients that are in the greatest need of an expression of caring at holiday time. With only a few days to Christmas, however, the program had concluded and all gifts were wrapped and delivered. That didn’t stop our staff. They rallied to pull together a Christmas package for Sarah and her children. Through this act of kindness, they gave Sarah much more than gifts, they gave her hope and the knowledge that her community cares for her and her family.

During this season of giving, please consider donating to Carizon’s Trauma Client Assistance Fund so that we can continue to provide support, skills and hope to individuals like Sarah and her children.